Trade week paints a positive outlook

Events bring together international galleries and institutions, proving the country is becoming a central hub for collectors of original and valuable high-quality works, Zhang Kun reports.

The 6th Shanghai International Art Trade Week, which ran from Nov 7 to Monday, witnessed the recovery of the art market and its rising public enthusiasm. More than 300 art institutions from home and abroad presented 125 events showcasing more than 10,000 masterpieces.

Since its first edition in 2019, the annual art week "has vigorously accelerated Shanghai's aim of becoming an important international art trade center", Zhong Xiaomin, head of the Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, said on Nov 7 at the opening of West Bund Art and Design, which is a flagship event of the international art trade week.

Following other major international art trading centers such as New York, London and Paris, Shanghai claimed the week in early November each year as its allocated period for global art trade, as this time sees hundreds of galleries and institutions from around the world meeting up to do business in Shanghai, holding more than 100 fairs, exhibitions and other events around the city, she said.